ROMANCE: Meet the Parents (Alpha Male Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance) (New Adult Shifter Romantic Comedy Short Stories) (3 page)

-x-x-x-

Jared woke early the next
morning, his biological clock thrown off from all the traveling. He had always
been a morning bird, but as he looked at the clock and saw that it was only six
in the morning, he knew that it was doubtful he’d be sleeping-in much on this
vacation.

Deciding that he needed a cup of
coffee to properly start his morning, and not wanting to wake Elena up, he
quietly and very carefully extracted Elena’s arm from around his waist and
slipped out of bed.

He watched her for a moment,
taking in how cute and graceful she looked, even in sleep. Not able to resist,
he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he slipped on a
shirt and went downstairs.

After a good fifteen minutes of
trying to get Mrs. Lucciani’s new espresso machine to work, which he remembered
with a touch of irony helping Elena pick out for the Lucciani’s fortieth
anniversary, he poured himself a cup and sat down to watch the sunrise in
peace.

Taking the first sip of the
heavy brew, he closed his eyes in content, ready to start the morning off right
until he heard a loud yawn followed by what he distinguished to be passing gas
from someone descending down the stairs.

Jared closed his eyes tighter,
hoping beyond hope that the lumbering steps he heard approaching the kitchen
were those of Mrs. Lucciani, while knowing that he would not be so lucky.

He opened his eyes right as Mr.
Lucciani rounded the corner, clothed in nothing but a pair of polka-dotted
boxers and the hair on his chest. He grunted in acknowledgement of Jared’s
presence.

“Do you know you snore like a
tractor?” Giovanni asked, grabbing a cup and pouring himself some coffee.

“Good morning to you too Dad.”

Gio smiled, “Mr. Lucciani will
do just fine thanks.”

“Of course sir” Jared muttered, taking
another sip of the coffee. He didn’t think he snored but he made a mental note
to ask Elena, just in case. “So, do you have any plans for the day?” he asked,
trying to make small talk.

Giovanni laughed, “Didn’t Bella
tell you, Rosa and I are supposed to take you both sightseeing.”

Jared’s eyes widened. An entire
day with Mr. Lucciani, no wonder Elena had not wanted to tell him last night,
she knew if he had the chance he’d have tucked his tail between his legs and
ran.

“And just how many sights are we
going to see?” Jared asked.

Giovanni shrugged, “Rosa wanted
to show Elena the new shopping center, I assume once we get there they’ll spend
a good three hours looking around and that will most likely conclude the tour.
So, with all the other things Rosa said she wanted to show you all, my guess is
it’ll be about five hours.”

Jared internalized his groan;
his assumptions had been right, and it was going to be a very long day indeed.

-x-x-x-

Jared had to admit the day
wasn’t going as bad as he had expected it to be. Gio rarely interrogated him,
likely because Jared clung to Elena’s hand for dear life to ensure he was never
alone with the man, and Rosa hadn’t tried to convince him to shave once since
she had thrown herself into the role of self-appointed tour guide and was too
busy explaining the sites than concerning herself with the length of Jared’s
hair.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa had
been cool, and Jared had wolfed down three pieces of pizza from all the
exploitative vendors that circled the tower.

It seemed that everything was
going just fine until Rosa led them through a dog park. As soon as they had
stepped in and Jared had got a whiff of the other canines his hackles
immediately began to rise. Elena noticed his tenseness and chuckled, patting
his arm reassuringly.

“Relax top dog; they’re just
puppies.”

“Right” Jared said, grinning
tersely, “here we go.”

They had made it about a fourth
of the way in with Rosa and Giovanni laughing to each other a few paces ahead
and Jared and Elena lagging a few steps behind when it began.

It started with a few low
growls, the attempts of some of the bigger dogs to pronounce to everyone in the
near vicinity just who was boss.

Jared resisted the urge to growl
back and instead looked straight ahead, Elena’s hand tightening around his to
remind him to be calm. “Everything’s fine.”

“Easy for you to say; you’re not
about to be attacked by a dozen Miniature Schnauzers.” Jared sighed heavily,
deciding to not look any of the dogs in the eyes, not because he was afraid but
because he didn’t feel like getting in a fight. At least, that’s what he told
himself.

They had made it about halfway
through the park when Giovanni and Rosa were first alerted to a potential
problem.

A few of the dog owners had
begun noticing their dogs’ odd behavior and had started their exclamations of
surprise and confusion as their dogs began straining against their leashes,
attempting to make a break for the center path, specifically towards Jared.

“Ouch!” Jared grunted, grabbing
his ankle in pain after a Chihuahua had broken free of the loose grasp of its
distracted owner and decided to make a statement that the territory of the dog
park belonged to him.

Jared knew he could shut that
pesky dog up in a second if he shifted, and his body vibrated with the desire
to shift into his wolf form and assert his dominance. Elena did a pretty poor
job of hiding her giggles and Giovanni looked like he wanted to hug the
Chihuahua like it was his firstborn son. Rosa looked concerned, searching for
the dog’s owner and shooing the proud Chihuahua away from her son-in-law.

But the Chihuahua was only the
first of their worries. Soon, a black poodle had broken free of its confines,
followed shortly after by a black Lab and a Scottish terrier. The freedom the
other dogs had claimed incited an even bigger struggle from the other dogs in
the park and one by one they had either chewed through their leashes in
desperation or had dragged their owners along, all to attack Jared.

Elena had let go of Jared’s hand
in the dog park mad dash, having been separated by the sudden influx of dogs
rushing to get to her husband. Giovanni was doubled over in laughter and Rosa
was wringing her hands nervously as Jared was brought down to the ground,
covered in a swarming and writhing mass of dogs, all barking and biting and
attempting to mark their territory.

Jared cursed, yelling out words
that caused mothers close by to cover their children’s ears and look
admonishingly at the now barely visible Jared. Elena winced at Jared’s cries
for help, torn between laughing and trying to save her husband who had always
bragged so much about being big and scary.

Deciding that the dogs would
likely tire themselves out, she decided to get her phone out and snap a couple
of photos for posterity; she was sure that Jared would want to laugh about this
moment. Someday. Eventually. After a long time. A very long time.

Just when Elena had decided
that, since it was nearing about ten minutes since she had last seen her
husband, she was going to get her dad to step in and begrudgingly help his
son-in-law, an inordinately loud growl came from the pile of dogs,
reverberating throughout the park and sending frightened shivers down everyone
in the immediate area’s back.

As if they had coordinated their
synchronization prior to their attack, every dog immediately leapt off of Jared
and ran, tail tucked between their legs.

Jared carefully and calmly stood
up. Eyes lit with an inhumanly yellow glow that he quickly blinked away before
people could start capturing the look with pictures and begin asking too many
questions. Elena rushed over to her husband, about to hug him but keeping him
at arms’ length as she realized he was drenched in urine from the dogs that had
decided to try and prove a point by marking their territory all over Jared.

He was lucky that as a werewolf
he was immune to sickness so at least he didn’t have to worry about the chance
of getting rabies, although he knew he would likely have to convince Rosa that
he was fine later.

Jared had a dark, humorless look
in his eyes and Elena sympathized with him, but in the end she could no longer
hold it in and guffawed with laughter. The look on his face was so out of place
on her husband, and as he looked at his soiled clothes and sniffed himself, he
pouted, the childlike expression comically juxtaposing with his large, manly
stature.

Rosa was the first to speak.
“Well then, I guess this concludes our tour. Perhaps we should get back to the
house, no? But, considering your soiled state, I think it’s best if you and
Bella walk back, we’ll meet you home yes?”

Elena nodded, still giggling as
she delicately placed a hand in commiseration on the single dry spot on Jared’s
shoulder. “Alright Mama, we’ll see you there.”

Rosa nodded, offering Jared a
small, sympathetic smile as she grabbed GAO's hand and began to lead him the
way they had come, out of the park, taking care to step around the stained
patch of concrete that had the clear, dry imprint of a man within it from
Jared.

Giovanni cast a lingering look
at Jared, sizing him up with something new in his eyes. He had heard that
growl, and knew from his experience as a dog trainer when he was young that no
ordinary canine could make such a sound, at least none that had been at the dog
park.

He didn’t know how Jared had done
it, but if he had thought his son-in-law had been suspicious before, he knew it
to be a fact now. He’d definitely have to do some more intensive investigating.
He had previously been going soft on the boy out of concern for upsetting
Elena, but now the gloves were coming off.

Elena and Jared waved as they
watched Rosa and Geo leave the park, Geo looking back at Jared one more time
and winking before heading after his wife who was getting ahead of him.

“He knows something.” Jared
said, “Did you see that look?”

“You’re being paranoid babe”
Elena said, “no one could see anything with how buried you were under them and
that growl could have come from any one of those dogs.”

“He winked at me though” Jared
said, still unsure.

Elena shrugged, “It was probably
a guy thing. He’s most likely going to use this time to have car sex with Mama.
They’re quite fond of that I think; I told you about what happened on New
Year’s Eve last year.”

Jared shuttered at the reminder,
grabbing Elena’s hand and smiling as her nose wrinkled when she realized it was
slightly damp. Jared shrugged, just a little happy that his wife was sharing
his misery in a very minor way.

“Still” he said, “I’ll just have
to be careful, and definitely avoid dogs at all costs.”

“We should probably be safe and
have you avoid cats too, just in case.”

Jared nodded, “Yeah, good idea.
I’ll just avoid all the pets in Italy.” He groaned, eliciting a smile from his
wife. Their long week had just gotten so much longer.

-x-x-x-

Elena sat on the edge of the
bed, waiting for Jared to get out of the shower. After he had stripped, they
had made the determination that his clothes were likely ruined beyond repair
and had decided to dispose of them in the trash outside. Jared’s damp phone was
drying in a bowl of rice, his keys had been cleaned and sprayed liberally with
deodorizer and his money, wallet and cards were all drying on a towel
downstairs.

Elena took the time alone to
think. Although she had brushed off Jared’s concerns about his changing the
night before, she was a bit worried. She wasn’t quite sure where they could go
for the full moon. Every other time of month Jared could chose when he changed
and for how long. But on the night of the full moon he had no control
whatsoever and had to stay in his wolf form for the entire night.

The days leading up to the full
moon made Jared’s usually perfect control of himself slip a little, but she
found it very appealing. During these times Jared got a lot more hands on, and
an increase in libido was also one of the perks of the pull of the full moon.
Something Elena was definitely not complaining about.

Elena had asked in town about
abandoned or very sparsely populated or traveled woods. Her Italian was rusty
though, and from some of the looks and responses from the locals, she was sure
that they had thought she was looking for a suitable place to bury a body.

Her parents’ backyard was off
limits, and from Elena’s first experience with Jared’s full moon
transformation, she knew staying indoors was certainly not an option. They’d
have to get creative.

Her thoughts were interrupted
when she heard the shower turn off, and after a few seconds Jared walked out of
the bathroom, a small towel wrapped loosely around his waist. His hair was wet
and disheveled from roughly running a towel through it and beads of water
dripped down and carved a steady path along his muscular torso.

Elena let herself get distracted
with tracing one of the drop’s path with her eyes and was only broken from her
slight daze by a small cough from Jared. She looked up, her eyes locking with
his subtly-glowing yellow eyes. He smirked, the almost feral expression on his
face sending shivers down her back.